Endorsement of Traditional Male Role Norms and Marital Adjustment among Turkish Men

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between married men’s level of male role norms and their level of marital adjustment. Male role norms were examined as predictors of marital adjustment in Turkish married men using a Turkish version of the Marital Adjustment Scale and the Male Role Norms Inventory. Academic and managerial staff from Ondokuz Mayıs University participated in the research. The study sample consisted of 183 male participants, all of whom had been married to a member of the opposite sex for at least one year. The correlations among the study variables indicate that avoidance of femininity, restrictive emotionality, aggression, achievement status, self-reliance, and attitudes toward sex are significantly related to marital adjustment. Additionally, the results reveal that male role norms are a predictor of marital adjustment. We conclude that marital adjustment is determined by avoidance of femininity, restrictive emotionality, aggression, achievement status, and attitudes toward sex.